The Pope is coming to the US in 2 weeks. Does anyone know what plane will he travel on?
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The Pope is coming to the US in 2 weeks. Does anyone know what plane will he travel on?
I think he usually flies out on Alitalia, then returns on the national carrier of the country he's visiting, which I guess would mean American.
Just saw on the 10 O'Clock news a story about the unprecedented security that will be in effect for the Popes visit. It will rival that of a Presidential Visit and the UN General Assembly and it is a US Secret Service/NYPD operation. TFRs and FRozen Zones will be used whenever he is on the move. He is scheduled to visit Ground Zero, the United Nations, St. Patricks and on Sunday the 20th say mass at Yankee Stadium. FRom their he will head home. I also read that he will visit a Temple by the UN on Friday and a small German church in the East 80s. I wonder if he will fly in to Manhattan from JFK to JRB utilizing Marine 1? Actually it'll probably be Nighthawk 1 or maybe Papal 1? LOL!!
In 2001 President Bush visited Yankee Stadium and threw out the first ball at a VERY emotional World Series game. They landed Marine 1 and other copters at an LZ near the Stadium but with all the construction going on there now that might not be possible.
Whatever it should be a very interesting and exciting few days no matter what your religious affiliations.
will I be smited?
http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/1...boeing7wm6.jpg
sheperd 1 is the callsign. doubt that the USMC would task an VH-3 for the pope, though i can't remember if a helo was used for John Paul II's visit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerard
AZA 767,777. I spotted his bulletproof Popemobile thingy being transported on a flatbed truck from Iceland Air Cargo ramp area to another location. They had deep security around the vehicle and traveled at like 5mph. Black SUVs with guns drawn too along with PAPD.
Senga
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>sheperd 1 is the callsign. doubt that the USMC would task an VH-3 for the pope, though i can't remember if a helo was used for John Paul II's visit<
Is that for his helo in Italy also? I know the Vatican had a Sikorsky S-61 that they used to fly
the Pope to the Vatican retreat in the Italian mountains.
I guess it was Pope Pauls visit during the Clinton administration and they were in Denver andge
they did use the VH-60s to transport him from the airport to his location. I remember watching
this on TV. If they are using the "Presidential Security Package" I would guess the helo to Wall St.
from JFK will be utilized.
Also read no ENG copters will be allowed in and the press will be using a pool coverage as opposed
to every station and paper having their own people.
>sheperd 1 is the callsign. doubt that the USMC would task an VH-3 for the pope, though i can't remember if a helo was used for John Paul II's visit<
>Is that for his helo in Italy also? I know the Vatican had a Sikorsky S-61 that they used to fly
the Pope to the Vatican retreat in the Italian mountains.<
Castel Gandolfo is the Popes summer retreat 40 miles north of Rome. And the Italian AF provides the helo for the Vatican with a pad on the Vatican
grounds.
A pullout in Newsday showed his schedule and FYI:
Arrives Andrews AFB 4PM Tuesday
Arrives JFK 9:45AM Friday
Departs Sunday JFK 8PM
Also: FRIDAY - UN(10:45AM) and two stops Upper East Side (starting 5PM)
SATURDAY - St Pats (9AM) St Josephs (Yonkers 4:30PM)
SUNDAY - Ground Zero (9;30AM), Yankee Stadium (2:30PM)
Still have to believe that HMX-1 will be invloved in flying the Pope from the airport to NYC and even up to St. Josephs in Yonkers. Hopefully
on Sat because I have to drive into Manhattan to the west Side. :lol:
So they probably will fly him.Quote:
HMX-1 provides helicopter transportation for the President, the Vice President, members of the President's Cabinet, and foreign dignitaries as directed by the White House Military Office.
Anyone going out on Friday to catch his arrival at JFK?
BTW what is he doin at ground zero, saying mass at Trinity Church or just 'visiting'?
A detailed itinerary of his visit is here:
http://www.uspapalvisit.org/itinerary_en.htm
I don't have anything on the calender, looks like I will probably make my way out Friday morning to catch him.
He will bless the spot and meet with families, survivors and first responders.Quote:
Anyone going out on Friday to catch his arrival at JFK?
BTW what is he doin at ground zero, saying mass at Trinity Church or just 'visiting'?
Was that a Korean Air jet I saw parked behind Shepherd 1 today at AAFB?
Yes, the Korean President is in town, too, and flew HL7465 as KE101 to ADW.
>Yes, the Korean President is in town, too, and flew HL7465 as KE101 to ADW<
Thanks. I saw in todays paper that he was in NYC today down at Wall Street. Do VIP/Heads Of State flights land at Andrews instead of Reagan or Dulles?
Pope Benedict's "Shepherd One" aircraft is a B772, named "Sestriere", reg. EI-DBL. Alitalia also used to fly a B747 also named "Sestriere" but that aircraft as well as all other B747's in the Alitalia fleet have been retired.
since most of the pope's travel on this trip is going to be relatively short-range who is responsible for that? we know that HMX-1 is going to move him about when he's in washington and nyc, but who does he travel on between those two points? will he be taking the alitalia 777 from ADW to JFK as well? do we know who he's riding home on?
http://www.uspapalvisit.org/itinerary_en.htm
The link has a pretty detailed itinerary but it mentions that he's leaving on Shepherd 1 at JFK on Sunday and he's arriving at JFK so I'm assuming it's on the AZ 777.
>we know that HMX-1 is going to move him about when he's in washington and nyc, <
Hey I started that rumor. LOL!! It seems that in DC he used a limo from Andrews to DC. We'll know tomorow if they use HMX from JFK to Manhattan and
I have yet to read that he he is going to travel to and from JFK by copter. Hey maybe the Pope will fly the copter himself. In todays Daily News they had a small
story about some fun facts you didnt know about Pope Benedict and one was that though he doesnt have a drivers license he does have a PILOTS LICENSE and
has been known to get in the cockpit of the Italian AF helicopter when he flies up to the summer retreat. How cool is that?
Pope Benedict's aircraft, B772 "Sestriere", AZA 4002, arrived at JFK at 9:26 AM from Andrews. It touched-down on Rwy 31L since the hangar is located at the end of 31L. Incidentally, I also read that Pope Benedict has a pilot's license and even flies his own helicopter!
You know they should really hire some spotters for news coverage concerning aircraft. I had taped Fox5s Pope arrival coverage and they had a
reporter outside the fence off I believe was Hangar 19 and this guy had no clue that the Popes plane had arrived until they just happened to see it taxiing towards the hangar!! "Oh I think thats it"? he exclaimed. Then he mentioned the HMX helicopters and once again he had no clue about the type of helicopters they were.
ANYWAY........
Except for the babbling of the talking heads in the studio along with a priest the footage was very cool. They showed the five HMX helicopters departing JFK to JRB and Fox5 had their ENG ship SkyFox5 stationed somewhere over the Harbor (I'm thinking Staten Island) shooting incredible aerial footage of the VH-3 zipping across the Harbor, taking a circle of the Statue then coming back over Brooklyn for its approach to the JRB pad. Also there was a ground based camera at Wall Street that had some awesome shots of the three CH-46 Sea Knights coming in to land on the barge at JRB. Made me proud. LOL!!!
I had thought they might shutdown the whole airspace in Manhattan while the Pope was on the move but apparently not. I went to lunch after 1PM and had brought my scanner in so I cruised a few blocks down to where the motorcade was coming through. Using my ipod earphones and securely placing the Bearcat in my backpocket I had no problems. Of course the motorcade blew right past me but it was still pretty cool and the SS guy in the back of one of the SUVs sure had an impressive looking weapon!! And even while he was on the move from the UN to East 72st they were allowing flights in the East River corridor and the tour flights were busily working on the Hudson River. Of course PD had three ships working. PD 18 (Koala) was buzzing the route at 500 feet and two of the 412s (PD14 and 23) were working 1000ft and above. Once he was secured at the 72 Street residence the USSS cut loose the aerial security. # 18 and 23 headed back to Floyd while # 14 headed up north to scout some LZs before heading home. But at the same time they had two other Koalas airborne,# 15 which flew south over me as I hung out by the East River and # 16 which was working the brush fire in Queens which eventually had #12 airborne for bambi bucket drops.
With the warm sun shining on a beautiful day it was hard to head back to work but it had to be done. Oh well!!
Oh one thing, does anyone know the call sign the Popes VH-3 was using? Thanks.
HMX uses the callsign "Nighthawk"Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerard
<Quote:
>HMX uses the callsign "Nighthawk"Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerard
Yes that I know. I was just curious if the VH-3 the Pope was on used Nighthawk 1 or a call sign specific to the Pope.
I saw the Korean Air 747-400 climbing out of AFW today.
Is that supposed to be ADW?Quote:
Originally Posted by Iberia A340-600
Yes, Andrews Air Force base which I guess is ADW. Sorry for the mix up.Quote:
Originally Posted by njgtr82
This is kind of off topic but is anyone going to see the pope tomorrow at ground zero?
Anyone know of any good places to be (stand) of where he might pass by?
>This is kind of off topic but is anyone going to see the pope tomorrow at ground zero?
Anyone know of any good places to be (stand) of where he might pass by?>
Unless you were at Ground Zero the only glimpse you would have had would be of the motorcade.
What a very moving and emotional ceremony this morning at Ground Zero.
Back on topic..... during the ceremony the talking heads remained quiet and with the silence I didnt hear any helos in the
background. Either they were told to backoff in deference to the ceremony or possibly they were grounded at Floyd due to low
ceiling/visiblity this morning. The weather looks to be breaking out now so they'll get airborne for the Yankee Stadium detail.
So the day that was forecast to be chilly with some rain turned out to be sunny and nice for the Yankee Stadium Mass. Divine intervention?
Once again SkyFox5 was up (along with lots of PD/AU) following the motorcade to the Stadium. They looked to be on station by the GWB or upper Manhattan. I heard the Skyfox reporter on Sat mention how the TFR was "fluid" and it could change at any time the USSS wanted it to.
It seems though they werent so drastic with it though.
After the Mass, sometime after 5PM, the Pope returned to Manhattan and by 7:20 was heading down to JRB. This time NBC4 provided the most
coverage and I caught some nice footage, I guess from Newscopter4, of the VH-3 flying along the Narrows to the VZ then over to Coney Island
and following the shoreline to JFK. They had "wheels down" around 7:46PM. It would probably be faster to fly across Brooklyn and Queens to JFK
but for security and safety reasons they use the shoreline/water route.
I see the V-POTUS and his wife were at the departure ceremony and that would account for the USAF G5 that Phil saw at LGA this afternoon.
Good catch there. Though the stations returned to regular programming I would say Shepherd 1 must have departed close to 9PM.
Now the city can sit back and take a deep breath.
BTW-did JFK stop all aircraft movements when the Pope was on the move like they do for the President?
Oh wait I'm not finished. :D
Last night on NBC they mentioned a story how Mayor Bloomberg and the Pope had a brief chat on the steps of St. Patricks after the Mass
concerning the security helicopters buzzing about. Now I mentioned previously that the Pope had a pilots license and I had forgotten that
Mayor Bloomberg is also a pilot, both fixed wing and rotorcraft, so I thought that was pretty cool.
They did when he arrived, I assume they did the same when he departed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerard
Amy from NewYorkology.com not only got to follow the Popemobile through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, but she also got some video of the VH-3s from her rooftop in Red Hook:
http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/20 ... ecopte.php
>Amy from NewYorkology.com not only got to follow the Popemobile through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, but she also got some video of the VH-3s from her rooftop in Red Hook:<
Pretty neat and if you listen to the background noise that must be Newscopter 4 hovering above them taking shots.
And thanks Moose for the other info.
those VH-3s look so much better than the damn VH-101s in the works...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerard
Where are the pics you guys?!
I caught a few pics of the Pope's Departure from JRB. Here's two:
First, a pic of the accompanying birds:
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/6...6652kz2.th.jpg
And here's a picture of them loading the Pope on his ride out. No farewell wave to the crowd... :(
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9...7082ye4.th.jpg
And he's off:
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/7...7382ai8.th.jpg
Cheers!
Dont know about leaving but when the pope arrived he was slotted between 2 jetblue AC coming in along the Jersey coast. He was listed on my Flite Explorer as flight Alitalia 4002 and while everyone was landing on the 2s they diverted the pope on to 31L. No ground or air hold for the pope.